Recipe

Serve this spicy tomato-and-artichoke sauce over tortellini. We like it cold as well as hot, and often recommend it for picnics.

Yield: Enough sauce for 1 pound pasta

Ingredients

1 pound ripe meaty tomatoes

Half a jar (6 ounces) marinated artichoke hearts

2 tablespoons best-quality olive oil

½ cup coarsely chopped yellow onion

1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

¼ to ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns, crushed

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 tablespoon grated Romano cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop the tomatoes, a few at a time, into the boiling water. Scald for 10 seconds, then with a slotted spoon transfer to a bowl of ice water. Scald all the tomatoes in this fashion, then drain, cool, and slip off the skins. Cut crosswise into halves, squeeze out the seeds and juice, and chop coarsely. Reserve.

2. Drain the artichokes and reserve the marinade.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion, garlic, parsley, basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes over medium heat for 5 minutes.

4. Add the black peppercorns to the onion mixture.

5. Add the tomatoes to the sauce, season with the salt, and simmer, uncovered, over medium heat for 1 hour.

7. Stir in the artichokes and continue to simmer until the sauce is rich and thick, another 20 minutes or so. Stir in the Romano cheese, and taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve over your favorite pasta. (If serving pasta Raphael cold, toss with sauce and cool to room temperature.)